I tried Day One and absolutely loved it. Then I hit the paywall, couldn’t sync between devices and immediately hated it. So then I built my own. This is Sunrise and it’s in the works. It’s a journaling app without a subscription. (Ignore my annoying entries 😅)
I pay for Apollo for Reddit, Ivory for Mastodon, I am a Mastodon Patron and even paid for Sketch for a while. I pay for Photoshop and Lightroom. I even pay for Arcade by Output! If it’s good, I pay. I just can’t justify the money for Day One
Have you considered switching to Pixelmator or Affinity? They both have cheaper options and you’re not supporting the most god awful predatory company on the planet’s CEO’s mega bonuses. Then you could redirect some of that money to fellow designers and engineers
Haven’t tried either, but would be willing to look into them. I have paid for adobe for years and it’s what I know. I bought a copy of Luminar AI but it wasn’t enough for what I needed - I’m willing to change my product but only if there is one that can truly take its place.